Covered button with insert



Dec. 15, 1953 H. J. KOEHL COVERED BUTTON WITH INSERT Filed April 1, 1950F/G. Z

INVHVTOR. b ermdn Josef Aoebl BY CM 0.. A if.

Patented Dec. 15, 1953 COVERED BUTTON WITH INSERT Herman Josef Koehl,Danielson, Conm, assignor to C. E. M. Company, Killingly, Conn., apartnership.

Application April 1, 1950, Serial No. 153,323

3 Claims. 1.

My invention relates to parts for assembling covered. buttons withinserts therein. More particularly, it concerns means whereby such partscan readily be assembled and covered with covering material without theuse of tools and without requiring special skill.

Parts that may be assembled to form covered buttons are well known inthe art. Usually the covering of such parts with fabric, leather andlike covering materials, and the assembly thereof to form the finalcovered buttons requires special tools and special skill, so that theseoperations cannot be performed in the home. Recently simple assemblieshave been developed, that are suitable for home use. They include ahollow form piece having a large opening at the back, that is lined withinwardly pointed teeth. These teeth are so located and directed as toenable the housewife or seamstress to stretch a covering material overthe form piece and. to affix it thereto securely, even prior toinsertion of a closure member in the opening at the back.

The present invention represents another development of such simplebutton assemblies and is particularly concerned with the provision of aninsert in the front of the form piece of the button, which insert mayeither be left bare or covered with a material. Such an insert makespossible a far greater variety of effects resulting in partially orwholly covered buttons of unusually attractive appearance.

The principal object of this invention is to provide special meanswhereby the abovementioned buttons with inserts may readily be covered'and assembled without tools and without any special skill in the home.Another object is to permit a much greater variation in shapes anddesigns of home assembled buttons, than has been possible heretofore.Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent asthe detailed description thereof proceeds.

To accomplish the foregoing, I give the form piece of the button aspecial shape that cooperates with the shape of the insert. An openingisprovided in the front of the form piece to receive and to hold theinsert. The latter may, if desired, be provided, as is the form piece,with special means for holding a covering material thereover.

Several embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way ofexample in the accompanying drawings. In these drawings each of thefigures is a view in cross section through the center of the buttonparts and the partly or completely assembled covered buttons accordingto my invention.

Fig. 1 shows a form piece with the front opening to receive the insert,

Fig. 2 shows a hollow insert with special means for holding a coveringmaterial thereover,

Fig. 3 shows an alternative form of hollow insert having a flanged edge,that is not intended to be covered,

Figs. 4 and 5 show variously shaped solid inserts that are likewise tobe left bare,

Fig. 6 shows a closure member for the back of the form piece providedwith a folded rim and a sew-on loop,

Fig. 7 shows the insert of a material,

Fig. 8 shows such a covered insert held within the front opening of theform piece of Fig. 1 by a material that is to cover the latter,

Fig. 9 shows the same arrangement, after the covering material of theform piece has been drawn thereover and affixed thereto,

Fig. 10 shows the complete assembly, after inserting the closure memberof Fig. 6 into the back opening of the covered form piece,

Fig. 2 covered with Fig. 11 shows another complete assembly 7 differingfrom that of Fig; 10 by the use of the bare solid insert shown in Fig.4, and

Fig. 12 shows still another complete assembly in which both the formpiece and the covered insert possess different shapes from those of Fig.10.

Referring now in more detail to these drawings, the ring shaped formpiece 1 shown in Fig. 1 and used in the assemblies of Figs. 8 to 11,inclusive, possesses a front opening 2, to receive an insert. The largerback opening is lined with inwardly pointed teeth 3 that are placedimmediately adjacent the back outer edge or rim of the form piece InFig. 2 there is shown a half-round, cap-shaped form of hollow insert 4-whose back opening is lined with inwardly pointed teeth 5 basedimmediately ad jacent the lower outer rim. These inwardly pointed teeth,as in the case of the form piece I serve to hold the covering materialover the insert, as may be seen in Figs. 7' to 10.

The inserts: shown in Figs. 3, l and 5 are intended to remain bare. Thehollow insert of Fig. 3 is preferably made of a metal having a goldlikeor silvery appearance, while the solid inser of Figs. 4 and 5 may bemade of glass or plastic and colored in various shades. The insert 6 ofFig. 4 is shown in the assembly of Fig. ll and may simulate a pearl.Obviously, other materials may be employed to produce an infinitevariety of effects. All that is required is that a section of the lowerportion of the insert have a shape and size. corresponding to the frontopening of the form. piece into which it is to be. inserted. Preferably,but. not necessarily, the insert possesses a tapered form whose baseportion corresponds, in shape and size to the front opening. The baseportion, particularly of a bare insert, may be slightly larger than theopening to prevent the insert from falling out.

The closure member 1 shown in Fig. 6 is designed. to snap into the rear.opening of the form piece, as shown in Figs. 10 to 12. This preferredclosure member is provided with a folded rim 8,

producing trough 9 which is engaged by the inwardly pointed teeth 3 ofthe form piece. The closure member is provided. at its center with awire sew-on loop it that may be affixed thereto by suitable means suchas riveting or soldering.

The various stages of covering and assembling a fully covered buttonemploying the form piece I, insert 13 and closure member I are shown inFigs. 7 to 10, inclusive. Fig. 7 shows the hollow insert l with acovering material i stretched thereover and held thereon by means of theinwardly pointed teeth 5. The covering of such an insert is greatlyfacilitated by the fact that the inwardly pointed teeth are basedimmediately adjacent the lower outer rim, thus providing a maximum sizedopening into which the excess material is pushed and simplifying theeven stretching of the material. It is also more effective thus to holdthe material closely adjacent to the lower mm.

Fig. 8 shows the first step in the assembly of the covered form pieceand the covered insert. For proper completion of this assembly, thecovered insert of Fig. '7 is placed in the center of a square piece ofmaterial 52 of proper size, the four corners and edges of said materialare gathered together over the insert and guided through the opening 2from the back to the front of the orm piece 1. The material It is thenpulled causing the covered insert 4 to become firmly pressed against theedges of the opening 2 at which point it is held securely in saidopening. The covered insert cannot pass through the opening, this oeingprevented by the covering material on insert :2, as well as the materialit that has been pulled through the opening 2. In the use of the bareinsert 8 (see Fig. 11) the covering material l?! of the form piece Isuffices to prevent the insert from slipping through opening 2. Forsafetys sake a flange may be provided, as in the bare insert of Fig. 3.

After a smoothening operation, the square piece of material 2 whichoverlaps the rim of the form piece I is now out circularly, allowingenough margin to heal: the material to the inwardly pointed teeth 3,while simultaneously stretching the material over the outer rim of theform piece. By this operation th material is securely affixed to theform piece, as shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. shows the finished button with the closure member I snapped intothe back opening. This illustration indicates the resilient qualities ofthe points of the teeth 3 in that they allow the pressure exerted by thefolded rim 8 of the closure member I to bend them to a certain degree.After the passage of the inner rim, the teeth snap back into the trough9 and regain their original position. Obviously the closure member canbe detached from the assembly of Fig. 10 with the aid of a sharplypointed instrument. This enables a user to employ the described assemblyfor frequent usage giving him a wide range of applications by replacingmaterial with new material on both the form piece and the insert in amanner conforming to the individual taste. fhus the newly finishedcovered button may look entirely different from its original version.

Fig. 11 shows the same button, with the eXcep-' tion that the insert isa half-round, simulated pearl 9 of glass or plastic. The coveringoperation of this button follows the exact procedure outlined in theforegoing, beginning with placing the insert in the center of a squarepiece of covering material of proper size. 1

Fig. 12 is included to illustrate a differently shaped form piece andanother type of covered insert. The form piece 13 possesses a largerfront opening than form piece I and a rounded front edge. The insert isshown therewith is ringshaped, and the covering material is simplystretched over the outer edge and caught by the inwardly pointed teethat the back, as in the case of the hollow, cap-shaped insert 4. Theresultant covered insert is assembled with the form piece I 3 in thesame manner as described above in connection with Figs. 8 to 10,inclusive.

It will be obvious that a variety of shapes may be designed both for theform piece and for the insert, without departing from the spirit andscope of my invention. Similarly, the shape of the closure member can begreatly varied from the specific example illustrated in the drawings.For example, a disc of resilient material having a grooved outer edgemay be employed. Generally speaking, I prefer to utilize sheet metal forforming the various parts of my assembly, although other materials maybe preferred for making solid, bare inserts, as shown in the drawings(Figs. 4, 5 and 11).

The assembly of my covered buttons with inserts therein as described inthe foregoing is so simple that no special tools or skill is required.My invention, therefore, enables the housewife and the seamstress toprepare their own covered buttons in the home. No longer is it necessaryto delegate this task to a specialty shop, and it is now possible toachieve almost any desired professional effect by suitable variation ofthe covering materials, inserts and form pieces.

I claim:

1. A button assembly, comprising a hollow ringshaped, sheet metal formpiece having an openmg at the front and a larger opening at the back,the latter opening being lined with inwardly pointed teeth, an insertfitting closely within said front opening, and a covering materialpassing over the outer surface of the form piece, between the edges ofits front opening and the insert, and underneath the insert, thusholding the latter within said front opening, said covering materialbeing held in place by the inwardly pointed teeth.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the larger back opening isclosed by a closure member having a. trough at its rim into which thepoints of the inwardly pointed teeth fit resiliently.

3. A button assembly comprising a hollow form piece having an opening atthe front and a larger opening at the back, the latter opening beinglined with inwardly pointed teeth for holding a covering material overthe form piece, and a tapered insert whose base portion fits closelywithin said front opening, so that said insert may be held fromunderneath and wedged within said front opening by means of the coveringmaterial for the form piece.

HERMAN JOSEF KOEI-IL.

References Cited in the file of thlspatent. UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date Re. 10,340 Farmer June 12, 1883 1,169,912 Barbour Feb. 1, 19162,513,182 Koehl et al June 27, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date460,696 France Oct. 11, 1913 837,712 France Nov. 18, 1938 202,027Switzerland Apr. 1, 1939 512,528 Great Britain Sept. 19, 1939

